Life or Something Like It 2002

Lanie Kerrigan, portrayed by Angelina Jolie, is a thriving journalist working at a television station in Seattle. As a child, she found her muse in the glamorous Marilyn Monroe, even coloring her hair blonde to emulate her idol. Lanie seems to have it all: a prestigious job, good health, and a well-known boyfriend, a baseball star. However, her world begins to unravel when her boss, Dennis (Gregory Itzin), announces that the national network is scouting for a new anchor and has chosen to submit Lanie’s audition tape. To enhance her skills, he suggests that she team up with cameraman Pete, played by Edward Burns, but Lanie is reluctant due to their complicated past together.

In pursuit of a story, Lanie interviews a self-proclaimed prophet named Jack (Tony Shalhoub). Jack boasts a lineage of prophets and claims his gift allows him to heal and foresee events. His foretelling captures Lanie’s attention—he not only predicts a football score but ominously declares that she will die in exactly seven days. As his predictions initially come true, panic sets in, prompting Lanie to confront Jack again in hopes of reversing her fate. Jack’s predictions continue to manifest, further solidifying her dread.

With her father Pat (James Gammon) living with her sister Gwen (Lisa Thornhill), Lanie struggles to secure her father’s attention amid family dynamics. Over the week leading to the foretold prophecy, Lanie embarks on a journey of self-reflection. Despite seeking solace from her boyfriend, Cal Cooper (Christian Kane), she finds little support; Cal dismisses her anxiety as mere moodiness, failing to grasp the gravity of her emotional turmoil.

As her lifelong dream of becoming a network anchor slips further away, Lanie grapples with professional missteps driven by her fear. Unexpectedly, her adversary and former lover Pete becomes her unlikely ally. He encourages her to seize life with gusto and pursue her true desires. Pete advises Lanie to express her long-buried feelings and cast aside the rigid expectations she places upon herself.

In her quest for reconciliation, Lanie attempts to mend her relationship with her sister, but the effort proves futile when Gwen rebuffs her. Undeterred, Lanie embraces Pete’s guidance, spending meaningful time with his son Tommy (Jesse James Rutherford). Their bond deepens, and Lanie finds herself reevaluating what it means to truly live.

Just as Lanie receives the job opportunity she always coveted in New York, Pete, who declines to accompany her, hints that her craving for fame may never be satiated. This realization weighs heavily as she leaves for New York, but fate takes a twist when Jack delivers another ominous prophecy. When a tragic incident occurs, Lanie finds herself caught in the crossfire yet miraculously survives.

In the aftermath, while recuperating in the hospital, Pete confesses that he has been in love with her from the very start. Lanie reciprocates his feelings, marking a transformative moment in her journey. Later, at a baseball game, Lanie reflects in a voiceover on how a piece of her essence has died—the part that never truly understood how to embrace life fully.